Damian Green affair: Home Secretary steps in over MP arrest row

Home secretary Jacqui Smith has attempted to defuse a bitter showdown between
MPs and the Commons Speaker Michael Martin as the Damian Green arrest row
escalated.

Damian Green leaving his home in West London, following his arrestPhoto: JULIAN SIMMONDS

1:08PM GMT 03 Dec 2008

The Home Secretary announced she would be making a full statement to the House on Thursday on the arrest of Tory frontbencher Mr Green.

The intervention came hours before Speaker Michael Martin was due to explain why police were not prevented from searching Mr Green's Commons office last week.

MPs from across parties have expressed fury at what they see as a breach of parliamentary privilege, and have been threatening to stage a protest during his statement this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Acting Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson strongly defended his force's handling of the investigation, which saw Mr Green arrested and questioned for nine hours in connection with leaks he received from a Home Office "mole".

Speaking at City Hall in London, Sir Paul said: "The police must be able to act without fear or favour in any investigation, whomsoever may be involved, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may have committed criminal offences."

Despite signs that the intensity of the political furore was causing consternation, Sir Paul said the police had known this was going to be a "sensitive" inquiry. He stressed that the force "should be held to account at the appropriate time".

He also confirmed that officers had received written authorisation to carry out the Commons search from Serjeant-at-Arms Jill Pay.

Sir Paul reiterated that politicians had no involvement in the decision to take action against Mr Green.

"I would strongly refute that I or any senior officer under my command have or have allowed any improper influence of our operations or acted for political purposes. That is not what we do," he said.

The Yard has announced that Ian Johnston, chief constable of British Transport Police, has been brought in to carry out an urgent review of the police inquiry.

Ashford MP Mr Green was arrested last Thursday, and has been bailed until February.

Civil servant Christopher Galley, 26, who is accused of passing him sensitive Home Office documents, has also been arrested and bailed. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

The political exchanges were becoming increasingly angry today, with Business Secretary Lord Mandelson accusing the Tories of using parliamentary privilege as a "smokescreen" to disguise their alleged involvement in criminal offences.

The peer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Galley - a former Tory council candidate who had applied for jobs at Conservative Party headquarters - "systematically passed sensitive and classified Home Office papers to the party, apparently in the full knowledge of the Conservative front bench and in complete breach of the Civil Service Code and the law".

"So whilst I recognise that the anger being expressed by some MPs is no doubt sincerely felt by some of them, I also think it is pretty self-serving by Conservative MPs who want to put up a smokescreen to hide their own party's role in allegedly colluding with a Home Office official in breaking the law," he said.

Ms Smith delivered a blistering attack on Tory leader David Cameron and shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve last night, insisting they lacked "respect" for the law and were "unfit" to be in government.

She categorically stated that no one in the Home Office had been aware that an MP was caught up in the police mole-hunt until minutes before Mr Green was arrested.

"Rather than seek to dismiss the offence the police are investigating as 'an antiquated common law misconduct offence', you would do better to show respect for the law and the duty of parliamentarians to uphold the law," she wrote.

She insisted it was vital to prevent leaks from the Home Office, and that principle extended "not just to matters of national security or otherwise covered by the Official Secrets Act".

Britain's top civil servant risked being dragged into the row last night by delivering a thinly-veiled warning to Whitehall officials over leaks.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, who is believed to have authorised police being brought in to track down the Home Office "mole", insisted internal systems were in place for staff to raise "matters of concern".

It was vital that individuals put aside their political beliefs and kept the confidence of ministers, he said.

Sir Gus made no direct reference in his comments to Mr Galley, but his words contrasted sharply with recent claims by lawyers for the 26-year-old that he did nothing wrong by handing embarrassing documents to Mr Green.

Fireworks are expected if, as aides suggest, the Speaker tries to restrict questions to short points of order after his statement at 2.30pm.

A number of Tories are considering the "nuclear option" of tabling a motion of no confidence in Mr Martin, which could potentially pave the way for his removal.